Beverly woman, Mass. Boy Scout among 3 people killed in New Hampshire waters, state police say
Three people are dead, including a Massachusetts Boy Scout killed in a boating accident and a 41-year-old woman from Beverly, Massachusetts who reportedly drowned, after three separate incidents in New Hampshire waters on Friday, state police said.
Marine Patrol and state police responded to calls in Gilmanton, Manchester, and Madison, between the hours of 2:15 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. on Friday, with the assistance of at least nine other agencies.
At approximately 2:15 p.m., New Hampshire 911 received a call for a boating accident on Manning Lake in Gilmanton, where a young boy was injured while out on a boat, state police said.
The boy, who has not been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene, state police said.
The boy was a student at Clarke Middle School in Lexington who was attending a summer camp in New Hampshire, Lexington Public Schools Superintendent Julie Hackett said in a letter to the school community.
Multiple students witnessed the boating accident and the district is working with Lexington Human Services to make grief counseling available for students and staff, Hackett said.
While at the fatal boating accident in Gilmanton, Marine Patrol received another call of a body that had been found on the Piscataquog River in Manchester, near the border of Goffstown, state police said.
Boaters called Manchester Police after finding the body, later identified as Shawn Barton, 40, with an unknown address at this time, state police said. Marine Patrol along with Troopers from Troop B and the Major Crime Unit responded to investigate. An investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of death.
Then, at around 8:45 p.m., a third call was received for a possible drowning on Middle Pea Porridge Pond in Madison, for a swimmer who had not returned to her family after being on the water in front of their rental property, state police said.
Investigators said Amy Posocco, 41, of Beverly, Massachusetts, had been swimming with a group of her family members when she failed to return to shore. Family and neighbors began an immediate search but were unsuccessful.
A dive team of Ossipee first responders helped locate Posocco approximately 90 feet offshore. An investigation into her death is ongoing. While an immediate cause of death was not known on Saturday, state police said they believe Posocco’s death was accidental.
“New Hampshire State Police Marine Patrol would like to extend our condolences to the families of the three victims,” state police said in a statement on Saturday.
State Police also thanked the following agencies for their assistance at the scenes of all three fatalities: New Hampshire State Police – Troop B, Troop E and Major Crime Unit, New Hampshire Fish and Game, Gilmanton Police, Gilmanton Fire and Rescue, Alton Ambulance, Manchester Police and Fire, Ossipee Fire and Rescue, and the New Hampshire Medical Examiner’s Office.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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